Misunderstandings exist among growers and the public about qualifying for the emergency loans being offered through the Farmers Home Administration, which is under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Kennedy, the cooperative's director of grove operations and vice president.

Kennedy spoke during a presentation by agriculture officials at Golden Gem, which has about 400 members, to review federal loan programs designed to help growers replant or rehabilitate their groves. About 20 growers, most of whom own 100 acres or less, attended the meeting.

Disaster loans first were offered following the December 1983 freeze that destroyed much the county's citrus. Last year, 176 growers asked for loan applications, 12 applied and two received loans totally $178,000.

No one has applied this year after the January freeze that killed many of the remaining citrus trees. The deadline for applying is Nov. 18.

Agriculture officials blame the low number of applicants last year on some requirements of the loans, which offered deferred payments for three years until growers could start earning money on their groves. Many growers say that three-year period was unrealistic.

Bill Ryland, the FmHA's county supervisor, told growers that a seven- or eight-year deferment period was requested of the USDA last year after the 1983 freeze. The government agency decided to give growers five years before they must begin making payments on emergency loans.

Ryland said most growers probably will not have to replant an entire grove. Instead, pruned citrus trees probably could start producing new growth within five years.

However, growers at the meeting said their trees are dead and would need to be replanted. They said they are skeptical about the possibility of replanting and producing citrus on their land by 1990.

Growers said they will not be able to get new trees for about two years and that it would take several more years before they produced citrus.

Ray Naeyaert, farmer program specialist with the USDA in Gainesville, told the group that a 10-year projected budget for rehabilitating groves will be used to develop plans for growers receiving an FmHA loan.

Growers who apply must develop a plan for re-establishing their groves and show it will be successful as a long-range operation. In addition, they must derive more than 50 percent of their income from citrus and be able to pay off emergency loans and debts to other lending institutions.

Under the loan requirements, the government would place a lien on all assets of a grower, no matter the amount of the loan. Saying that requirement is unfair, growers said a lien should reflect the amount of a loan.

''Is this the Department of Brazilian Agriculture?'' asked John Heist, who owns about 100 acres of dead trees near Lake Jem and Tangerine. Heist, referring to the increasing amount of citrus imported from South America, said only growers with an outside income could qualify for a loan under current requirements.

Ryland said the meeting was the first this year to explain changes in the loan program. Last year, more than 100 hostile growers complained about loan requirements during a similar meeting.

He said he was unaware of the concerns expressed by growers and plans to speak with federal agriculture officials about making additional revisions in the program.

''We have to get the message across to growers. We want to make a loan to them,'' Ryland said.

Growers who cannot get loans from banks or other lending institutions could qualify for low-interest FmHA loans between 5 percent and 8 percent annually. Growers who qualify for assistance elsewhere would receive a regular interest rate of about 13 percent under an FmHA loan.

Kennedy said most growers are not destitute and would pay the higher interest rate if the FmHA program was more flexible, but current FmHA requirements provide little incentive for growers to apply.

''None of us are asking for a handout,'' he said. ''We expect to pay our way.''